Wednesday, December 23, 2009

We have a wonderful family that we are friends with especially our daughters, and they are Jewish-so this year to share and celebrate the last day of Chanukah and also their Shabbat they opened their home to friends and gave us gentiles a taste of a different culture and I was happy to have been invited.

I got to see and rekindle an old friendship there as well, the boys behaved fairly well for the chaos going on and the older girls got a long as well. There was food and cider and Peter made wonderful latkas with applesauce or sour cream.

They lit the menora and sang their prayer in Hebrew which was reverent and calming. Bogan loved the candles and didn't try to blow any out, somehow he knew before we reminded him not to.

We talked and caught up and had a wonderful time. Thank you to them for a wonderful new memory.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Last Night was great we had a traveling family night as it were. We started with Phun with Physics, a 2 hour program put on by the University of Utah Physics department at the City Library on Foothill Blvd in Sugarhouse, more information here; http://umnh.utah.edu/freemondays(just copy and paste in your browser). It was great they worked with some of Newtons Laws of Physics, action and reaction and then one which they described as everything is basically lazy, state of motion, which you see PT testing and the dishes are still in place. They also worked with liquid nitrogen, balloons, and motion with a lazy Susan. They poured out the nitrogen onto the floor to let the children feel the evaporating nitrogen and how cold it was then they felt where it was poured to see how cold and dry it was. At the end they put a rubber ball in the nitrogen for about 10 minutes and dropped from the stairs with one that was not frozen and with a loud POP the ball broke off into a dozen pieces, while the other bounced. Its a great program and the children enjoyed it if you can you should see it, they have it there and at the Natural Museum of History on the first Monday of the month which is free Monday.

Then we got some pizzas for dinner and headed off to the South Jordan Library where we saw the Intermountain Christian School Bell Choir and Chorus. The program was simple and lovely there where 2 bell numbers then chorus then bell and so on. The Choir did both bells and sing and the members also traded bells frequently for each number, so many of the members learned all of the bells played. The boys where in awe at the size of the bells, small to large and loved the blocks to play the "horse feet". a long with the wood cracker "cracking whip", during the Christmas Song, and they had a lovely medley from the Nutcracker.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Watched this film on Saturday it was an eye opener, but most of it I knew-it was done very well.

A review of the documentary;

(8 Comments) The award-winning feature documentary, THE WAR ON KIDS, launches a nationwide grassroots screening tour that will bring the debate about public education to dozens of campuses and communities nationwide.
In 95 minutes, THE WAR ON KIDS exposes the many ways the public school system has failed children and our future by robbing students of all freedoms due largely to irrational fears. Children are subjected to endure prison-like security, arbitrary punishments, and pharmacological abuse through the forced prescription of dangerous drugs. Even with these measures, schools not only fail to educate students, but the drive to teach has become secondary to the need to control children. Not only do school fall short of their mission to educate, but they erode the country’s democratic foundation and often resemble prisons.
School children are interviewed as are high school teachers and administrators, and prison security guards, plus renowned educators and authors including:
Henry Giroux: Author of Stealing Innocence Corporate Culture's War on Children
Mike A. Males: Sociologist, author of Scapegoat Generation
John Gatto: New York City and New York State Teacher of the Year
Judith Browne: Associate Director of the Advancement Project
Dan Losen: The Civil Liberties Project, Harvard UniversityWatch the trailer hereif this link is not working let me know.

Friday, November 27, 2009

For part of our lessons Wednesday we made desserts for everyone. We made Pilgrim hats and Indian Tee pee's,(I know the Indians who are back east did not live in tee-pee's, it was just for the image and 5 and 7 year old). And believe it or not the boys where so excited to show all our family on Thursday that they even waited to eat the desserts. They didn't take long to make and were very yummy.

Here is where I am going to Share those moments that just come whether it be night or day and we take the time to seize every opportunity-

Just a quick chuckle; I was putting my sons down for the night and little Bogan asked for another drink of water, and I said no you have already had a large glass and used the bathroom-he said oh yeah-so I chuckled and said haha your plans to stay awake have been foiled, and he said yeah Mom you folded my plans.

The other night my boys were playing with their legos and when I walked by, PT had made a pyramid and asked me where the little guy was that he had, I said I don't know? And then he showed me he had hidden it under the pyramid-I thought and then grabbed that moment- I went and got out the history book and opened up to the ancient Egypt era when pyramids were built and why it was similar to what he did. He was amazed at the significance. We read and read and learned about them for 2 days.

This year we have started a new style of learning by Ruth Beechick, and love it! It is simple to use and to the point and Gospel centered of course I have to add the BOM, but its been great so far, check it out

Quotes

I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays, and have things arranged for them, that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas. - Agatha Christie, author I have not the least doubt that school developed in me nothing but what was evil and left the good untouched. - Edward Grieg, composer

1. Confusion 2. Class Position 3. Indifference 4. Emotional Dependency 5. Intellectual Dependency 6. Provisional Self-Esteem 7. One Can't Hide. It is the great triumph of compulsory, government monopoly mass-schooling that among even the best of my fellow teachers, and among even the best of my students' parents, only a small number can imagine a different way to do things - John Taylor Gatto, NY Teacher of the Year 1990-91